The Squintern and the Miko
by Linlaah
Summary: After visiting Thailand Vincent Nigel-Murray decided to visit Japan. On his third day there he meets a woman at a shrine and embarks on a roller-coaster romance that he had never expected. Yet another challenge by YukimuraShuusukeGirl.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I do not own Bones or InuYasha. I simply play with the characters. Enjoy!  
**

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Kagome breathed a sigh as she stared at the empty courtyard of her family's shrine, bored out of her mind. It was her day off from work, and she had decided to come and visit her family. Only when she arrived she found out that her grandfather was in the hospital with a broken leg, her mother was visiting him, and her brother was at some school camp. And all this she only found out because she had called her mother's mobile phone when she noticed that no one was around.

_"Kagome, could you look after the shrine store while I'm at the hospital today?" _her mother had asked.

What could she have said? No? Not hardly. So here she was, waiting for the possibility of a customer wanting a charm, or a trinket of some kind. And what a small possibility that was. Almost no one bought her grandfather's worthless charms this time of year. At one point she had tried to help them drum up business by embedding her own spiritual energy into the charms. Unfortunately, just because they actually worked then didn't mean that people would buy them. So after some time she gave up and stopped putting her energy into them.

Hearing the crunch of leaves on stone she looked up hopefully. Was someone coming to buy something? Or was it her mother returning from the hospital? Either way it would help to relieve the boredom. She watched the entrance to the shrine intently as a man slowly finished walking up the stairs. By the time he had reached the top he looked slightly winded. Kagome mentally sighed. Although she knew some people just weren't in very good shape, it was kind of sad, she thought, that that was all it had taken for this guy to be out of breath.

Despite this fact he continued on towards the storehouse without pausing. When he reached it he smiled slightly. "You sure have a lot of steps," he commented lightly in Japanese. At least, Kagome was fairly certain it was supposed to be Japanese, though that wasn't what it sounded like. His accent was so thick, and he over-accented the syllables, making them sound abnormally forced. Then again, considering the fact that he was a foreigner, they probably were forced.

All the same, she couldn't help but laugh slightly out of embarrassment. "Yeah... sorry about that. That's just the way old shrines were built."

He shook his head. "I wasn't complaining." He paused, looking thoughtful before adding, "Did you know that in an average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of five times around the equator?"

Kagome blinked. What? Was he serious? Okay, maybe he just wasn't aware of what he said since Japanese was obviously not his first language. Yet something told her that he was being perfectly serious. Probably his eyes, he decided. His nice clear eyes looked deadly serious. Wait, nice clear eyes? What was she thinking? Brushing the thought off she shook her head.

"Uh... no, I didn't know that." _And I'm pretty sure few people would_, she wanted to add. "Did... did you want to buy something?"

"No, I- no, I don't. I just wanted to see what a Shinto shrine looks like."

Well that was... a bit disappointing. "Oh. I see."

The man hesitated before speaking again, looking nervous. "O-on second thought I think I would like to purchase something. How about... that on the wall behind you?" He blinked, than leaned forward across the counter to try and take a closer look at the object he had pointed out. "What... what is that? Is that a... a mummified hand?"

Kagome grimaced. That was precisely what it was. At least, according to Gramps it was. "You're better off not knowing," she told him with a groan. "Way better off."

Despite her words he still looked curious. "It doesn't look human," he murmured under his breath in English. "But it is definitely a hand."

"Alright!" Kagome moaned. "Alright, it's a hand. It's a freaking mummified kappa hand."

"A-a what?" he asked, confused.

"...a kappa hand. A... water sprite." She flushed. "My grandfather bought it off the internet and decided to try and sell it here."

"That's... weird."

"Don't I know it..." Smiling slightly she tilted her head to the side. "I'm Kagome by the way. Kagome Higurashi." Although it felt slightly strange to say her name in the Western order, she thought that she might as well.

"Vincent Nigel-Murray. Or Vince. Or-"

"I'll just call you Vince, okay?" she questioned, having a strange feeling that if she didn't cut him off he may decide to go on and on listing possible things for her to call him.

There was a meow from somewhere above their heads. Raising her head Kagome stared up at the ceiling of the small room. "Buyo, get off the roof!" she scolded the cat that she could now clearly hear scratching the wood with his claws. "And stop scratching!"

"Cats sleep on average sixteen to eighteen hours a day," Vince announced, also staring up at the roof.

Kagome felt the sudden urge to facepalm. Was he going to keep spouting out facts like that? They weren't even useful facts... just things that sort of related to what they were talking to but not really. "Um... is that so..."

"Yes. And while cats are quite good jumpers, the elephant is the only mammal who is incapable of doing the same?"

She should find him annoying. She knew she should find him annoying, but in a way his random fact spouting was actually quite charming. Though she doubted she would think it was so charming if he wasn't so cute. "I didn't know that one. Though I guess it isn't too surprising since elephants are so big."

"They are rather, aren't they?" he agreed, smiling broadly.

"So, would you still like the kappa hand?" Kagome asked him, grinning.

He shook his head. "Not really, no."

"I didn't think so." Feeling suddenly adventurous, and knowing that it was highly unlikely that anyone else would show up at the shop today she said, "Hey... would you like to get some tea with me?"

Much to her surprise he looked startled by her question. "T-tea? You want to get tea with _me?_"

Biting her lip Kagome nodded. "Yes. Is that... such a weird thing? I-I mean I know we just met, but it's around that time and I thought it may be nice."

"No, that's not what I meant. I'm just surprise that you want to have tea with me. I'd think you would find my... my habit annoying." Although he didn't clarify what his 'habit' was, she had a pretty good idea.

She shrugged. "Maybe a little. But I still want to. That is... if you want to...?"

"Of course I would. It would be my pleasure."

Kagome grinned again. "Great! Let me just close shop and go get changed. I'll be out as soon as I can, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay, I'll wait here." Like there was anywhere else he would wait.

As he watched her run off to the main house he closed his eyes briefly and smiled. Although Thailand was possibly the most amazing place he had visited on this trip, Japan could very possibly be a close second. Imagine, a girl he didn't even know inviting him to get tea. It was inconceivable, yet it had still happened. He opened his eyes at another meow. If he didn't know better, he would swear that the cat was giving him a warning stare. But that wasn't possible, it was only a cat.

A few minutes later Kagome appeared at his side. "Ready? I know the greatest place right near here!"

"Let's go then," he said.

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**AN: So... yes. My muse needs to be gotten under control. And yet at the same time I'm happy I've been able to write so much recently. I hope to update soon! **

**If there is a specific random fact you would like to see Vince say, than feel free to tell me. Or if there's anything else you want to see happen, go ahead and bring that up too and I'll see what I can do.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Yay for another chapter up! I'm on a serious roll. Lol though that may end soon as I still have work and class to focus on. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! This one didn't come out exactly as I had hoped, though I still like it.

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**As Vincent sat quietly at a table across from Kagome his mind wandered. The woman was babbling on about her family, and as he suspected he would remember what she was saying regardless of the fact that he was only paying half-attention, so he didn't feel particularly bad about it. That had to be, he thought, the best part about possessing a retentive memory. And anyway, it wasn't as though his mind was wandering particularly far. How could it, when such a lovely woman sat across from him at a quaint cafe?

And she truly was very lovely. She possessed shiny black hair, flawless skin, a petite build and warm brown eyes that were highly expressive. Not only was she the ideal woman, she was the type of girl who could make a bloke into her slave with just one look, and then later wow the parents into absolutely adoring her. He also suspected that she was the type of woman who would never need a man to protect her or tell her what to do. Even though he had spent less than an hour in her company he felt strangely... drawn to her, like a moth to an open flame.

"Vince, are you going to drink your tea?" she asked him suddenly.

Blinking in the mild sunlight that filtered through the leafy branches of the trees overhead he winced. "Maybe," he replied quietly, lowering his eyes to the round teacup in front of him.

The appearance of the liquid alone was enough to make him think twice about actually consuming any of the concoction. The tea - if he could call it that - was vibrantly green in color and had a distinctive smell that he was fairly certain tea was _not_ supposed to have. Swallowing hard he looked back up at Kagome.

"Um... what... what kind of tea is this again?" he asked hesitantly.

She smirked. "It's green. Come on and try it before it gets cold. It's good for you!"

Shaking his head Vince still wasn't sure he wanted to try the stuff. "Yes, studies do show that green tea is full of antioxidants. H-however, although logically it should be safe to drink, common sense dictates that green drinks should not be consumed."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "It won't hurt you, Vince." Sipping her own tea she let out a soft sigh of contentment. "And this is particularly good."

He stared at her for another minute before sighing. Her face was so hopeful that he found it disturbingly hard to resist. "Alright." Picking up the cup he raised it to his lips, hesitated only slightly and muttered, "Cheers," before downing it. After it was all gone he grimaced and gagged. "That is God awful!" he exclaimed, coughing.

She laughed. "I guess it takes some getting used to..."

"That would be the logical conclusion..." Vince cleared his throat. "A common beverage may actually surprise you. Coca-Cola was said to have been originally green when it was first released."

Kagome pulled a face. "Green?"

"Yes. In actuality it was just the light reflecting off of the green bottle that made the beverage appear the same."

"That...was actually interesting," she said with a smile. "Although a little gross."

"Yes... a little. Sorry about that."

"It's okay," she said with a shrug. "I don't really mind." Leaning forward she rested her chin on the palm of her hand. "So where exactly are you from? I'm curious."

"England, originally," Vince replied. "Though I have lived in the United States for the last few years."

"Oh? What do you do?"

"I'm a..." Vincent frowned. From his experience telling women what he did usually resulted in them looking very disgusted and then making excuses why they never want to see him again.

Kagome, noticing his hesitation, bit her lip. "Is it that bad? What, are you a felon or something?"

"A fel- No, not at all. I'm a forensic anthropologist."

There, he said it. There was the possibility that she wouldn't know what that was, but he couldn't count on that. He was prepared for the disgust, the anger that he knew would come. Only much to his surprise it never came.

"Really? That's so cool! You're like Dr. Temperance Brennan."

He blinked. She knew about Dr. Brennan? Oh, that was right. Her books had been translated into Japanese and published over here hadn't they? He vaguely remembered a woman coming from Japan to interview his mentor. He nodded.

"I used to work under her, actually."

Kagome's eyes widened. "You did? That's so amazing. I've read a couple of her books. She seems like she would be a great person to study under."

Vince shrugged. "She... she was." His eyes took on a distant expression as he looked away. "She was."

"...I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

Glancing back at her he shook his head. "You didn't. I'm just... reminiscing."

"I know it's none of my business," Kagome began, "but you looked sad... Sorry, I shouldn't butt into your life."

"No it's fine." Looking down at his hands he continued, "I used to work under Dr. Brennan, until she decided to go to Indonesia on a big dig. I understand why she went, and I'm not mad or anything. But after she left I lost my job. So, in a moment of whimsy I decided to go on Jeopardy. Surprisingly I won, and here I am now."

Kagome was silent while he spoke, listening to his explanation. When he was through she noticed that he still had that distant, somewhat sad look on his face that reminded her so greatly of Shippo. It took everything she had to keep from hugging him. As it was, that would have been extremely inappropriate. However, she could still lighten the mood.

Furrowing her brow she pulled a face. "You went on Jeopardy? That's so… American." To show that she was joking she let the briefest of smiles come to her face.

Vincent blinked, than laughed. "It really was very American. But in the end I think going on that game show was the best thing I have ever done. I've traveled the world and seen and learned a lot of new things."

"Silver lining?"

"Silver lining," he agreed. "Though it's almost over now. I'll be heading back to D.C. tomorrow."

Kagome winced. "That soon? You told me you just got her what, two days ago?"

He nodded. "I heard Dr. Brennan came back so I thought I should try and get my old job back. I've already seen everything I wanted to see, and the money is virtually gone."

"Those seem like all good reasons to go back."

"Yes…"

An uncomfortable silence filled the air, broken only by the occasional tiny noise made when Kagome sipped her tea. As he watched her he wondered if she was even aware that she was drinking it.

"What about you?" he asked at length. "What do you do when you're not manning the shop for your grandfather?"

She flushed slightly, much to his confusion. "I... nothing quite as exciting as you. I work in a used bookstore."

He smiled. "Bookstores are exciting. They are a treasure trove of knowledge. Especially ones that sell old and rare volumes."

"You really see it that way? Most people find it boring. But I do agree. I love working there... there are new discoveries to be made each day. Not to mention that I get a great discount so I'm able to purchase a lot of wonderful history books."

"Oh, you like history?"

"I love it." She smiled mysteriously. "Especially when it relates to the Sengoku Period - The Feudal Era."

"Now that's interesting. I've read about Japanese myths set during that period. Is there any written backing to any of them?"

"Some," she replied. "But most of it is conjecture. Or myth. But really, whose to say that myth couldn't actually have been reality?"

Although the scientific, logical part of him wanted to laugh at what she was saying, Vincent knew that there was technically no proof that myths had never actually taken place. Although some of them were much more likely than others. The ones that included demons, for instance, sounded nothing more than impossible.

"I suppose that's true."

All of a sudden a buzzing sound interrupted them. Removing her mobile phone from her jacket pocket, Kagome sighed. "Looks like I have to go... my mom wants me to go visit Gramps at the hospital and bring some things for him from the shrine." She gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

Vince shook his head. "Family should always be the top priority."

"Something like that," she agreed. She stood, and gave him another small smile. "Look... I know you said you're leaving tomorrow. But if you change your mind and want to stay longer, why don't you come by the bookstore tomorrow? It's called Kitsune Shoseki."

Without giving him a chance to respond she left, humming some unknown tune. Vincent watched her go, bewildered by the strange woman. It looked like he had a big decision to make. Whether to stay, or whether to go... that was the question.


End file.
